McHenry County Blog

To the tune in “My Fair Lady:”

“They said that they would do it, would do it.

“They said that they would do it, would do it.

“And, indeed they did.”

Web page from which one can find the packet of information to be considered at the council meeting.

I notice on the Crystal Lake City Council has followed in the footsteps of the Huntley and Carpentersville School Districts, McHenry County College and the McHenry County board and posted its board packet.

Crystal Lake City Council

Now citizens and other nosy bodies can find out what the council members will be discussing before the meeting.

The link is on this page right between the board agenda and the searchable city council minutes.

One giant step toward transparency.

I have cited Huntley School District 158 as a model of transparency. I did so most recently for all to see at a Crystal Lake City Council meeting when I was perturbed that I could not find the council packet on the internet on the city’s brand-new web site.

I thought I got a favorable response, but last weekend I went looking for the information that the council folks had already received and there was nothing to be found.

Crysal Lake City Council

Asking City Manager Gary Mayerhofer about when it might happen, I was told that staff was ready, but waiting for direction from the council. Based on that representation, I didn’t ask again during the public comment section. If by the next meeting I attend it is not up, I shall, as you would expect, make mention of it again.

In any event, the Huntley School District was the web site I pointed to as what I hoped Crystal Lake would emulate.

But outside of the board packet’s posting, the Huntley School District is no model of transparency, even though outgoing School Board President Shawn Green represented as such.

Why would I say that?

While McHenry County government has been known to reply to a Freedom of Information request in less than 24 hours, the Huntley School District tends to take the pretty much the maximum amount of time allowed by law.

And, in the instance of my search for anyone employed by District 158 with a Special Education Director qualification, as defined by the Illinois State Board of Education, the term “dragging of the heels” is too mild to use.

On Monday, February 8th, I asked for the following:

“One document for each person having a special education director endorsement on their administrator’s certificate, as verified on the State Board of Education web site.”

The same day, FOI Officer Lori Woods replied,

“Are you requesting a copy of their certificate?

“If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me.”

My reply:

“I really don’t care if it the certificate or something referring to the certificate. “

Woods:

“Okay, thanks.  I’ll get working on that ASAP for you.”

My reply:

“The basic question is whether anyone in the district has a certification to be a special ed director.

“I can’t find one.”

On Friday, February 12th, I received this reply from Woods:

“The response to your FOIA regarding documentation of Special Education Director endorsement is attached.

“If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me.”

That certainly is within the five-workday returned turnaround time, but consider the answer from Human Resources Director Lauren Smith that was attached:

The parsed word response of Huntley Human Services Director Lauren Smith. Note that it took her only nine minutes to formulate her answer. Click to enlarge.

Huntley School District Human Relations Director Lauren Smith

“I am not clear how to move forward on this request. Based solely on the question, I cannot provide a document for all persons with an endorsement as a special education director.”

Smith’s parsing of my words reminds me of President Bill Clinton’s:

“I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”

Being the persistent type, I filed a new Freedom of Information request on Friday, February 12th, saying,

“It seems to me that my Special Ed certification request was pretty clear, clear enough to ask the IL AG’s office in an appeal and get a letter sent to District 158 the way one was recently sent to Grafton Township officials.  Instead, for a very brief time (I do not promise to wait 5 days, just to delay until the thought of an appeal enters my head again), let me give you another chance with the re-wording of the question you see below:

“I request all documentation provided by the Regional Superintendents Office or State Board of Education that evidences each district employee who holds or has held a Special Education Director endorsement during the 2009 – 2010 fiscal year, including any employee who was employed by the district in FY 2009 – 2010, and any certificate or copy thereof of in possession of the district that evidences the referenced employees’ holding or having held the referenced endorsement.

“A simple ‘We have no record of any such evidence that a Special Ed Director Endorsement has been held by any of our employees during Fiscal Year 2009-2010′ will suffice, if that is the situation.” (Emphasis added.)

Seven days later, I received this reply:

“The response to your FOIA for Special Education Director endorsement is attached.

“If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me.”

Now, Human Resources Director Smith has discovered,

It took twelve days to get this answer. Click to enlarge.

Very interrresssting.

“Upon review of certified staff members, including administrators, there is not an employee as of this date with a Director of Special Education endorsement.”

Ver-r-r-r-y in-ter-r-r-r-r-es-s-s-t-ing, as the Laugh-In Nazi would say.

Not that I think Green had any knowledge of the games his staff was playing, but I would point out this answer was received the day after Green praised the district’s transparency.

It was not received before I got fed up at not having receiving a timely answer to my question of February 8th, though.

I would suggest the kiddie games evident above are unworthy of a local government aspiring to be known as a “model of transparency.”

= = = = =

The 800 number of the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access folks is 877-299-3642, by the way.  Complaints may be filed by email.  The email address is PublicAccess@AtG.State.IL.US.

The Huntley School District 158 changed how you can access the board packets online.

You go to this link and place your cursor over 2009 – 2010 information. A menu then appears.

As soon as you attempt to click onto the men–Voila!–it disappears.

I’d post a copy of what can be briefly seen, but it disappears before I can capture it.

And, to think, District 158 was one of the first area governments to post its board packet.

Wonder who in the technology department was responsible.

So much for posting board packets on line when the board receives theirs.

Board members received theirs on last Friday.

So much for transparency.

When you go to a meeting of elected officials, wouldn’t you like to know what they are looking at as they sometimes seem to use shorthand while discussing the public’s business?

It costs some money, not to mention the effort to put together the packets of information that the Sheriff’s Department used to deliver to my Dad’s home every Friday before the Tuesday meeting.

Now, some local governments have given their elected officials laptop computers into which the packet information is downloaded.

With the advent of the internet, some local tax districts have not only figured out they could provide the memos and documents to be considered at the next meeting to board members, but they can also provide it to the taxpayer public.

It took McHenry County College ever so long and much prodding to convince the board that such openness—some call it “transparency”–should be allowed.

It’s not transparent enough, because the MCC administration has still not put up any information about the 1,500 foot tower BMB Communications Management proposes to place on 3.6 acres of college land, if permitted to buy it for $6 million.

MCC has not even sent out a press release. The only one came from BMB, which, astoundingly, gave the first indication of next Wednesday’s special 7 PM board meeting.

Talk about a public entity being co-opted by a profit making entity!

But, it’s better than it used to be.

And the Carpentersville School District 300 and Huntley School District 158 regularly post such information prior to meeting.

On Crystal Lake’s newly re-vamped web site, there is not even a place for the board packet.

You can get your agenda and, after a while, get your minutes, according to the page you see above.

Compare the MCC page about meetings with the Crystal Lake page.

Notice the missing column.

Elections are time for change.

Even when the challengers don’t win, they can often get the incumbents nervous enough to promise to do good things.

Maybe some city council challengers will push for publication of not only agendas and minutes, but the guts of city council, planning and zoning commission meetings, etc.:

= = = =
The 1,500 foot Daytona Beach television broadcast tower you see is held up by guyed (guy) wires. It is not self supporting as the one BMB Communications Management is proposing. The tower photo you see is re-produced with permission from Wireless Estimator.com. If you would like to see time lapse photos of how such a tower is erected, you can do so by clicking here. The alternating colored sections of the tower are each 100 feet.

Bill Pysson, who writes Boone County Watchdog, figured out a way to make the aerial’s picture larger. I wish I knew how to wrap text around it.

When you go to a meeting of elected officials, wouldn’t you like to know what they are looking at as they sometimes seem to use shorthand while discussing the public’s business?

It costs some money, not to mention the effort to put together the packets of information that the Sheriff’s Department used to deliver to my Dad’s home every Friday before the Tuesday meeting.

Now, some local governments have given their elected officials laptop computers into which the packet information is downloaded.

With the advent of the internet, some local tax districts have not only figured out they could provide the memos and documents to be considered at the next meeting to board members, but they can also provide it to the taxpayer public.

It took McHenry County College ever so long and much prodding to convince the board that such openness—some call it “transparency”–should be allowed.

It’s not transparent enough, because the MCC administration has still not put up any information about the 1,500 foot tower BMB Communications Management proposes to place on 3.6 acres of college land, if permitted to buy it for $6 million.

MCC has not even sent out a press release. The only one came from BMB, which, astoundingly, gave the first indication of next Wednesday’s special 7 PM board meeting.

Talk about a public entity being co-opted by a profit making entity!

But, it’s better than it used to be.

And the Carpentersville School District 300 and Huntley School District 158 regularly post such information prior to meeting.

On Crystal Lake’s newly re-vamped web site, there is not even a place for the board packet.

You can get your agenda and, after a while, get your minutes, according to the page you see above.

Compare the MCC page about meetings with the Crystal Lake page.

Notice the missing column.

Elections are time for change.

Even when the challengers don’t win, they can often get the incumbents nervous enough to promise to do good things.

Maybe some city council challengers will push for publication of not only agendas and minutes, but the guts of city council, planning and zoning commission meetings, etc.:

= = = =
The 1,500 foot Daytona Beach television broadcast tower you see is held up by guyed (guy) wires. It is not self supporting as the one BMB Communications Management is proposing. The tower photo you see is re-produced with permission from Wireless Estimator.com. If you would like to see time lapse photos of how such a tower is erected, you can do so by clicking here. The alternating colored sections of the tower are each 100 feet.

Bill Pysson, who writes Boone County Watchdog, figured out a way to make the aerial’s picture larger. I wish I knew how to wrap text around it.

Either that or incompetence.

For probably the fourth money (and I’m not wasting my time going back and counting), the McHenry County College administration has failed to live up to its promise to post what are called “board packets” in a timely fashion.

Usually, I check the Friday before the Monday Committee of the Whole meetings to see what is up.

There’s even a special board meeting Monday where the faculty union contract will be probably be approved.

Agendas are on the college web site, but no board packets.

Wouldn’t you deduce that from the following agenda item?

“Agreement Between Board of Trustees and McHenry County College Faculty Association, Board Report #08-265”

But, unlike in Huntley School District 158, the public will have no advance notice of how high the raises will be.

We don’t get to look at Board Report #08-265 for the 6 PM Monday meeting.

I did it at 9:30 Sunday night this time around.

So, we are less than 24 hours before the meeting and citizens are not allowed to see what the board members will consider Monday night.

Do you think salaries amount to 80% of MCC’s budget, the way they tend to in school districts?

No reason for the public to know anything about such a piddling amount, right?

I think it was last month I suggested a $100 personal fine for President Walt Packard every time a board packet was not posted in a timely fashion.

I doubt anything else will catch his attention.

Maybe $100 is too small, but some monetary fine would catch his attention.

Either that or incompetence.

For probably the fourth money (and I’m not wasting my time going back and counting), the McHenry County College administration has failed to live up to its promise to post what are called “board packets” in a timely fashion.

Usually, I check the Friday before the Monday Committee of the Whole meetings to see what is up.

There’s even a special board meeting Monday where the faculty union contract will be probably be approved.

Agendas are on the college web site, but no board packets.

Wouldn’t you deduce that from the following agenda item?

“Agreement Between Board of Trustees and McHenry County College Faculty Association, Board Report #08-265”

But, unlike in Huntley School District 158, the public will have no advance notice of how high the raises will be.

We don’t get to look at Board Report #08-265 for the 6 PM Monday meeting.

I did it at 9:30 Sunday night this time around.

So, we are less than 24 hours before the meeting and citizens are not allowed to see what the board members will consider Monday night.

Do you think salaries amount to 80% of MCC’s budget, the way they tend to in school districts?

No reason for the public to know anything about such a piddling amount, right?

I think it was last month I suggested a $100 personal fine for President Walt Packard every time a board packet was not posted in a timely fashion.

I doubt anything else will catch his attention.

Maybe $100 is too small, but some monetary fine would catch his attention.

I don’t look at the McHenry County College web site every month, but, since tonight is a Committee of the Whole meeting and lots of sneaky things have happened at what the board members call “COW” meetings, I looked.

This is the third time the information given to the board members has not been available to the public.

The meeting starts are 6 PM, less than five hours away.

The last time was in April. The time before was in March.

I first found it posted in February.

It was quite a change for the better to obtain online access to the reports to be considered by the board. For months, folks like me sat clueless as to what was being discussed because of the board’s lack of transparency.

It doesn’t look as if much interesting will be happening tonight.

Those who would like to learn more about the property tax assessment process will apparently get a short course from McHenry County Supervisor of Assessments Donna Mayberry.

I left a message in President Walt Packard’s voice mail a little after one this afternoon. Maybe I’ll get a call back saying the board packet has been posted.

If you plan to attend the board meeting tonight, it is at University Center, 100 South Main Street, Crystal Lake, not on the main campus. For old timers, that’s the old Oak Manufacturing building.

The images can be enlarged by clicking on them.

= = = = =
I received a phone call from President Packard’s office, but didn’t realize it until Wednesday. It seems there was no board packet for the Committee of the Whole meeting. Perhaps in such cases, a note could be added to the MCC web site to that effect.

I don’t look at the McHenry County College web site every month, but, since tonight is a Committee of the Whole meeting and lots of sneaky things have happened at what the board members call “COW” meetings, I looked.

This is the third time the information given to the board members has not been available to the public.

The meeting starts are 6 PM, less than five hours away.

The last time was in April. The time before was in March.

I first found it posted in February.

It was quite a change for the better to obtain online access to the reports to be considered by the board. For months, folks like me sat clueless as to what was being discussed because of the board’s lack of transparency.

It doesn’t look as if much interesting will be happening tonight.

Those who would like to learn more about the property tax assessment process will apparently get a short course from McHenry County Supervisor of Assessments Donna Mayberry.

I left a message in President Walt Packard’s voice mail a little after one this afternoon. Maybe I’ll get a call back saying the board packet has been posted.

If you plan to attend the board meeting tonight, it is at University Center, 100 South Main Street, Crystal Lake, not on the main campus. For old timers, that’s the old Oak Manufacturing building.

The images can be enlarged by clicking on them.

= = = = =
I received a phone call from President Packard’s office, but didn’t realize it until Wednesday. It seems there was no board packet for the Committee of the Whole meeting. Perhaps in such cases, a note could be added to the MCC web site to that effect.

If McHenry County College is any indication, the State of Illinois has community colleges on the “slow pay” list.

In a report from MCC President Walt Packard, he notes, “State revenue is currently 76% of budget compared to 99% of budget last year.”

He points out that payments were almost $580,000 short of what the college had received through May of last year, “due to a timely delay in the distribution of the fourth quarterly payment from the State.”

Two comments are made by Packard that relate to the failed baseball stadium effort. Neither, however, explicitly mention the baseball stadium.

Legal fees are up. Earlier Legal fees are co-mingled with other contractual services, which are over $668,000 higher than last year.

The college has refused to reveal how much was spent on lawyers’ (not) replying to Freedom of Information requests.

Capital expenses are up over $293,000. Want to bet that a lot were for the baseball stadium?

The board meets tonight at six. Note that the board packet was not posted at 4:30 PM on Monday, 25 and one-half hours before the Committee of the Whole meeting was scheduled to begin.